E3 2013: Forza Motorsport 5 will likely outrace Gran Turismo 6

If E3 2013 is any indication, this is the year that Turn 10 passes Polyphony Digital for the title of best racing sim developer. It seems like this has been coming for the past few years now. The developer of the Forza Motorsport series has gained on Sony's legendary racing franchise for a while, and in the past few years, they've been neck and neck.

But with Forza Motorsport 5 launching on the Xbox One and Gran Turismo 6 showing up on the PlayStation 3, the separation between the two is more apparent. It's night and day with Forza 5 looking superior. I had a chance to take both games for a spin at the show. Forza 5 featured one track set in Prague while Gran Turismo 6 lets you choose among several courses.

EVERY CAR IS A PREMIUM CAR: With Gran Turismo 6, Polyphony Digital offers 17 new tracks and 1,200 cars on Day 1. The game does away with premium and standard vehicles. It makes every car premium and that means each one has thoroughly detailed interiors and exteriors. They also include the new adaptive tessellation that makes vehicles look more realistic than ever.

Combine that with a smoother menu system and Gran Turismo 6 is an improvement but what will make it a leap above the previous iteration is the new physics engine. Polyphony Digital has pushed the PlayStation 3 hardware so that it takes each vehicle's wheel and suspension into account during race. That means if players hit the inside of a curve, they can feel it change the movement of the vehicle (see the Alpine below). There's even a new notifications in the HUD letting players know how each individual tire and spring are holding up.

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ON THE TRACK: I raced through the the Matterhorn and the game still has that fishbowl effect when racing through courses with long vistas. I couldn't get a feel for the new racing physics other than noticing that driving on manual was a more difficult. I kept crashing and mowing the lawn more than usual. Maybe it was the Tesla I was using. (I wanted to see the 17-inch screen in the cockpit view.)

As with any game nowadays, Gran Turismo 6 will have downloadable vehicles. Sony said they'll be pursuing an aggressive strategy that includes free and paid vehicless. In addition, there'll be benefits for PlayStation Plus members.

NEXT-GEN RACING: Although Sony's flagship racer has some new tricks, it's going to look dated next to Forza 5. Turn 10"²s next-gen racer may be the biggest reason gamers get an Xbox One this side of Titanfall. Graphically, it outperforms its rival inside and outside the vehicles. The interiors look photorealistic in places. Players will even see the reflection of the dashboard on the windshield as they drive.

On the outside vehicle, Forza 5 runs smoothly and captures all the detail of Prague. The god rays were excessive, but it did give the world a softer, more realistic look. At times, it felt like CGI. I raced using both the controller and a wheel that is being developed by Thrustmaster that includes a clutch and paddles to shift. It's comparable to the Logitech wheels out there.

A FEEL FOR THE ROAD: The Xbox One controller shines with Forza 5. The force feedback tied to the triggers adds a better feel for the road. When you hit a warning strip on a corner, the triggers rumble depending on what side of the car it is. Break hard and the controller shakes a bit. It immerses players more into the vehicle so they can get a better sense of the race. It's remarkable and allows the Xbox One controller to edge out the DualShock 4 in my first impressions of the two.

After the race, players can see the damage they've done to their vehicle. I had a few scratches and dents on mine. It was a reminder that I'll have to improve my driving a lot more so that my cloud-powered Driveatar can compete against friends. The much-ballyhooed feature creates an AI that learns how you drive and competes for you in online races while you are away at work or out with friends. It's your digital doppelganger.

It's another one of those forward-thinking elements that has propelled Forza 5 past its competitors. As for carrying over saves from Forza 4 to this one, I asked members of Turn 10 how that would work. They didn't confirm anything but said if they did it in the past ... . Personally, I felt my hours of racing through past games wouldn't go unrewarded even if it's on a new system.

Forza Motorsport 5 is scheduled as a launch title for the Xbox One. Gran Turismo 6 is set for release this year.